The ADCC world champion Gordon Ryan recently announced a big sponsorship for the upcoming ADCC.
Ryan will be sponsored by none other than the biggest podcaster in the world, Joe Rogan. The podcaster will also be the official sponsor for 2022’s ADCC. Gordon Ryan was previously living in New Jersey but with the pandemic first moved to Puerto Ricco and subsequently left for Texas.
ADCC 2022 is the equivalent of jiu jitsu Olympics – with the event having been postponed for a year due to the pandemic. In addition to the geopolitical situation, jiujitsu fans are also very curious about Gordon Ryan’s much anticipated clash with arch nemesis Andre Galvao in the fall out from their own slapping incident.
Besides Galvao, Ryan is also expected to grapple Felipe Pena – the only grappler to have beat him in the recent years.
Rogan and Gordon have a pretty good relationship with Rogan having helped Gordon to get a handle on his stomach issues that have kept him from competing professionally during long breaks. Rogan is a BJJ blackbelt under Eddie Bravo and is a very big fan of the sport in fact some might say he’s the biggest positive influence in the sport today. Rogan has had Ryan and his teammates as guests on the podcast several times now.
The partnership between Gordon Ryan and Joe Rogan is also beneficial for the prestigious grappling event. Ryan was reported to be the key factor in getting Rogan to also be the official sponsor for ADCC 2022. ADCC or Abu Dhabi Combat Club was founded back around 1998 and held every 2 years. During the early years the competition attracted a number of MMA athletes thanks to the $50,000 premium for winners. This was a rarity at the time – and in fact many UFC athletes now risk way more for way less. Still.
Gordon Ryan is one of the rare financially successful grapplers – he managed to parlay his success in competitions into a lucrative career selling jiu jitsu instructional along with his head coach John Danaher. Several days ago Ryan announced an open call for a sponsor and designated a price point of $100,000 which is fairly steep as far as jiu jitsu sponsorships go.
Ryan previously had a partnership with the brand Hypontik which turned sour when Hypnotik encountered financial issues and realized it had very little room to make back their investment. Following the fall out Ryan disputed their use of his photographs in promotional materials to no avail.
ADCC Head Organizer Mo Jassim publicly thanked Ryan for helping the event land the partnership.
“I would like to thank Gordon Ryan for landing this sponsorship for ADCC” Mo Jassim wrote in the Instagram post from the ADCC page.
Gordon also celebrated the sponsorship on an Instagram post of his own.
“Happy to announce my new sponsor for ADCC. A brand and a friend I stand behind, no matter how many times he’s canceled. Thanks for being a real dude on and off camera, and giving voices to people who would otherwise have none. JRE will also be an official sponsor of ADCC this year.”
Rogan will be sponsoring one of the most anticipated grappling tournaments in history.
The fans expect to see historic matches this year as several high-level competitors like Andre Galvao, Gordon Ryan, Felipe Pena among many others will participate in the event.
The “main event” will be headlined by the grudge match between Galvao and Gordon Ryan.
Galvao and Ryan have shared a heated rivalry throughout the years. After a video went viral where Gordon Ryan was seen slapping Andre Galvao in the face, the build-up for this match became even bigger.
The upcoming ADCC event will be held in Septembe of 2022, at Thomas & Mack in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.